A look at cable, satellite TV earnings reports

Cable and satellite TV companies have begun releasing their earnings reports for the latest quarter.

The second quarter is usually a weak one for pay-TV services because students cancel their subscriptions ahead of the summer holidays, and some "snowbirds" cancel their winter home subscriptions before heading to their summer homes.

Here is a summary of earnings reports for selected companies and what they reveal about the industry's prospects:

? July 19: Verizon Communications Inc. says it added 120,000 FiOS video customers to end with 4.5 million in June.

Dish Network Corp. says it lost a net 10,000 subscribers, which was smaller than analysts predicted in a typically week quarter for pay TV operators. It ended the quarter with 14.1 million subscribers in the U.S.

? July 24: AT&T Inc. says it added 155,000 U-verse TV subscribers to end with 4.1 million.

? Aug. 1: Comcast Corp. says it lost 176,000 video subscribers, though the rate of decline has slowed. It ended the quarter with 22.1 million to remain the nation's largest.

? Aug. 2: DirecTV Inc. says it lost 52,000 U.S. subscribers, the first quarter it has lost subscribers. DirecTV ended the quarter with 19.9 million U.S. subscribers, making it the second-largest provider of pay-TV signals in the country, after Comcast. DirecTV's Sky Brasil and PanAmericana added 645,000 subscribers. That was up from 472,000 a year ago and the best result ever for the company.

Time Warner Cable Inc., the second-largest cable company, says it lost 169,000 subscribers in the second quarter, a record for the company. It ends the quarter with 12.3 million.

? Tuesday: Charter Communications Inc., the country's fourth-largest cable-TV provider, lost 72,000 TV customers in the quarter to end with 4.3 million.

Cablevision Systems Corp. has stemmed the loss of TV subscribers for the second quarter in a row, at the cost of holding its prices steady. It held the number of TV subscribers steady at 3.3 million.

? Wednesday: Dish Network Corp. reiterated that it lost 10,000 subscribers, leaving it with 14.1 million and as the third-largest provider of pay-TV signals to U.S. homes.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/look-cable-satellite-tv-earnings-reports-230540043.html

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